Quebec language group urges boycott of retailers that lead court challenge against French signs

A Quebec court has ruled that the province’s language police went too far in trying to force such major retailers as Wal-Mart, Gap and Best Buy to add French to their outdoor signs.

In a ruling Wednesday, Superior Court Justice Michel Yergeau concluded that the Office québécois de la langue française had no legal basis to abruptly change its policy toward the retail chains after nearly 20 years of tolerating English brand names.

Although regulations accompanying Quebec’s French language charter exempt trademarked names from the requirement that French predominate on signs, the Office argued that stores were obliged to include a “generic” French term to describe their activities.

Some firms have voluntarily done so, for example Second Cup added “les cafés” before its name in Quebec, and the eyewear chain New Look added “lunetterie.”

Jean-Paul Perreault, president of the language-defence group Impératif français, urged people to boycott companies that “lead a costly and merciless legal battle against Quebecers.” Instead, he urged shoppers to patronize chains that have translated their names in Quebec, such as Chalet Suisse (Swiss Chalet), Poulet Frit Kentucky (Kentucky Fried Chicken) and Village des Valeurs (Value Village.)

In 2011, the Office launched a public-relations campaign to encourage all chains to follow suit. “We are well aware that commercial and public signage constitutes the most visible element of our linguistic landscape,” then-president Louise Marchand said at the time. “It is this landscape, that of our streets and shopping malls, that reflects the unique character of Quebec society.”

The retailers argued that adding French would dilute the force of their brands, and when the Office threatened sanctions, the retailers went to court seeking a declaratory judgment that their signs respect Quebec law.

Justice Yergeau noted that the Quebec government had sought an opinion on English-language trademarks as far back as 1998 and was informed by its advisory council on language that there was little it could do.

But as the English signs multiplied in downtown Montreal and suburban malls, the complaints of French-language activists grew louder. In May 2012 the Office began sending out warnings to retailers,

Justice Yergeau said the existing law and regulations exempt the companies from altering their trademarks. “It is up to the Quebec legislator,” he wrote, “to show the way if he feels Quebec’s French linguistic face is suffering from a wave, a breaker even, of English trademarks on public signage and to impose, by legislation if necessary, the solutions he considers adequate.”

He added a polite nudge to the companies that brought the court action: Best Buy, Costco, Gap, Old Navy, Guess, Wal-Mart, Toys “R” Us and Curves. “Nothing prevents companies who so wish to add a French descriptive or slogan to the English trademarks they display on their storefronts, like many have done voluntarily, contributing at the same time to the preservation of Quebec’s French face,” he wrote.

A spokesman for the Office said it will be up to the provincial attorney general’s office to decide whether to appeal. None of the companies involved wished to comment. “The decision speaks for itself,” said Maxime Leduc of the Retail Council of Canada, which intervened in the court case.